Q1 2013: Pretty Darn Good (Though Not For Cliffs, Penney or Apple)

By Sam Mamudi

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 11.25% in the year’s first quarter, a period in which it broke an all-time high dating back to 2007. It was also the best Q1 performance in 15 years, since the benchmark rose 11.27% in 1998, and was the best quarterly performance since the fourth quarter of 2011, according to WSJ Markets Data Group.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index also set a record closing high (though is still short of its intraday record) — but only just, breaking the the 2007 mark on the quarter’s last day of trading. Somewhat weighed down by Apple (AAPL) — which fell 17% in the quarter — the index lagged the Dow in Q1, producing a 10% gain, which is actually worse than last year’s first quarter, which saw the S&P rise 12%.

Among the winning stocks on the S&P 500 this year are Netflix (NFLX), up 104%, and Best Buy (BBY), up 87%. The biggest losers are Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF), down 51%, and J.C. Penney (JCP), which has lost 23%.

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